Blog
August 1, 2023
Attain Partners Welcomes
Chassidy Hall, Advancement Subject Matter Expert
Chassidy Hall joined Attain Partners in August to serve as an Advancement subject matter expert (SME) working with our Salesforce Innovation team. She joins us from a decade and a half in higher education working to help institutions leverage the power of Salesforce to improve the student experience.
Attain Partners is the Salesforce.org 2022 Consulting Partner of the Year – Education and a Salesforce Summit Partner. Our team of experts continually strives to Invent the Future and Be the Best in everything we do.
We sat down with Chassidy to learn about why she chose Attain Partners and hear about the expertise she brings to her role.
Attain Partners (AP): How did you get into Advancement?
Chassidy Hall (CH): I am a self-proclaimed “Salesforce Geek,” and have been using Salesforce for most of my professional career, from an end user in admissions and recruitment to moving into managing the operations for all student-facing roles. I was lucky enough to be a part of a re-implementation of Salesforce connecting to TargetX to redesign the entire student experience, successfully delivering a 360-degree view of the student, improving their educational experience, and improving the efficiency of the staff.
After fifteen years on the student side of higher education, I started helping my team at The College of William & Mary with Advancement efforts, specifically using Salesforce and Marketing Cloud. It was a whole new world for me, and I was truly amazed at how much goes into designing and implementing a CRM for an Advancement Office. From there I was given the opportunity to work for an Advancement CRM built on the Salesforce platform. While I did not have a lot of advancement experience at the time, I had 15 years of Salesforce experience, and I was eager to help clients use this amazing technology.
AP: What did you do before joining Attain Partners?
CH: I have spent the last three years working with an Advancement CRM built directly on Salesforce, and I have been lucky enough to wear a few different hats. I was brought on to work with the software engineering and product team, writing the product documentation, supporting clients post “go-live” and helping our implementation team as they partnered with our clients to implement their advancement solution on Salesforce. I loved getting to learn about such a complex product—how it was documented, delivered, and maintained—while helping clients develop a deeper understanding of this amazing tool.
The aspect of this job I loved the most was working with so many different colleges and universities, each one so unique. I have gotten a front-row seat to their technological growth, learning how to use innovative tools to develop new solutions that help with their overall mission for the betterment of their school, constituents, and community. I have gotten to go from working with a large department, piecing together each story to help develop an overall solution, to working with a single individual who realizes they can now accomplish something in a few hours with advanced reporting capabilities that in the past would have taken weeks and involved several different people/departments.
AP: What brought you to Attain Partners?
CH: Attain Partners is an organization that believes in its core values and allows those values to drive every aspect of what they do. Getting to work for an organization that focuses its efforts on helping drive innovative technological solutions for education and Advancement organizations is an honor. Working with clients, taking on the challenge of understanding what they need, and painting that picture for them in a way that they understand and can see the possibility of the end result is simply amazing. Working with people to help them understand how technology can help them do something better, or something they have never been able to do before, is what brought me to Attain Partners.
AP: Which of our seven core values speaks to you the most?
CH: Each core value demonstrates the overall focus and drive Attain Partners dedicates to their clients. Be Bold definitely speaks to me the loudest. What I love most about partnering with organizations and their constituents is helping to turn their hopes and dreams into tangible solutions. Everyone within an organization has amazing ideas and contributions, we get to help them put those pieces together strategically and test them to ensure they deliver results.
AP: What do you like most about the work you do?
CH: Helping people in an organization put their ideas together, translating their stories into solutions, and delivering real-life improvements to their everyday jobs brings me pure joy. When it comes to implementing new technology people can get scared, nervous, and oftentimes are willing to accept the status quo. I love collecting, constructing, and delivering new business solutions and seeing the excitement it can bring, from re-designing a marketing communication strategy for an annual fund to more efficient ways for gift entry. All of this comes down to being understanding, approachable, empathetic, and a good teacher.
AP: What are the biggest ways you’ve seen Advancement efforts impact organizations?
CH: Advancement efforts play such a vital role within an organization—over the last twenty years we have seen such a dramatic shift in how institutions are able to secure funding. Universities are getting less money from tuition and governmental resources and Advancement departments had to help fill that gap. Now, in so many colleges and universities they are exceeding that gap, their efforts going beyond the education that is being provided to the students.
The research and community growth that is provided by an educational institution is made possible by its Advancement efforts. In so many ways a university is the core of the community, educating, employing, improving, and growing everyone within the community.
AP: What is the most challenging aspect of your job?
CH: The most challenging aspect of my job is making sure that everyone’s needs are met. What I love most about this job is seeing the light bulb turn on when a client realizes that we can help them fix a problem, or better a process. The challenge is to make sure everyone has that “light bulb experience,” believes in what we are doing, and is excited about the end result.
AP: What do you read and watch to keep current?
CH: I live and die by Salesforce Trailhead, and the user community. I subscribe to educational nonprofit groups and ISV partner groups, and I regularly attend local user group meetings. Reading through questions the community has had really helps to fine-tune my skills and find new and innovative ways to deliver solutions.
I have been fortunate enough to attend CASE and aasp conferences, meeting and networking with Advancement professionals from institutions all over the country. It’s reaffirming to learn what organizations have done with technology to exceed fundraising goals, connect with their constituents, deliver groundbreaking technology, drastically improve their communication plans, and so much more.
Attain Partners – Salesforce Experts
No matter if your organization is beginning its Salesforce journey or 10+ years into development, Attain Partners is here to help you achieve your goals. Contact our team today to learn how we can help you advance your mission by harnessing the power of Salesforce.
To learn more, check out our Salesforce Innovation services, read case studies about our transformative work, and explore blog posts from our Salesforce experts. Read our latest advancement insights here.
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